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Uber is the latest tech giant to slow its hiring in response to current market pressures. That slowdown is part of a larger push to cut costs, and comes even as the company’s core ride-sharing business rebounds from its pandemic lows.
“We will treat hiring as a privilege and be deliberate about when and where we add headcount,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a recent email to employees, according to CNBC (which posted the full text). “We will be even more hardcore about costs across the board.”
Khosrowshahi wrote the email after “several days” of investor meetings in New York and Boston. “It’s clear that the market is experiencing a seismic shift and we need to react accordingly,” he wrote. Uber’s investors are all about free cash flow, which means the company needs to see stronger results around not only ride-sharing, but also newer businesses such as Freight and Delivery.
The cost of generating that cash won’t be cheap. “The hurdle rate for our investments has gotten higher, and that means that some initiatives that require substantial capital will be slowed,” Khosrowshahi added. “We have to make sure our unit economics work before we go big. The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back.”
Uber isn’t the only tech company undergoing this kind of strategy shift. According to Business Insider, Meta (formerly Facebook) CFO David Wehner has instituted a hiring freeze through the end of the year; an internal memo blamed the move on Apple’s stringent data-privacy rules, the war in Ukraine, and other tech-industry pressures. Popular fintech app Robinhood also announced layoffs, which it blamed on rapid growth.
It's important to keep in mind, however, that the tech unemployment rate stood at 1.7 percent in April, just a slight uptick from 1.4 percent in March. Employers everywhere remain hungry for all kinds of tech talent; according to CompTIA’s analysis of the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, demand has been particularly strong for software developers and engineers (which accounted for 30 percent of all job postings), along with IT project managers, IT support specialists, systems engineers and architects, and network engineers and architects.


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I read an article that quoted Ken Williams saying this:
“We’re very proud of what we created all those years ago with Sierra Online, and today’s news about carrying Sierra forward as an indie-specific brand is very encouraging,” said Sierra founder Ken Williams in an official statement. “We look forward to seeing Sierra’s independent spirit live on, and are especially excited to see what The Odd Gentlemen will do with King’s Quest.”
This is where I learned that The Odd Gentlemen, the developers behind “The Adventures of PB Winterbottom” a well reviewed action adventure platformer, are making the new game.
I wanted to know how Ken was notified about the game. Didi activision reach out for his blessing? Or did the Odd Gentlemen do so out of respect? Also what does he mean by indie-specific? Did activision or whoever has the IP’s come to some new agreement that is indie and fan supportive?

domain: news


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The sentencing last week of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is helping put the debacle the crypto ecosystem has endured in the rearview mirror. This — coupled with the bull run the space has been experiencing lately, largely driven by Bitcoin breaking its previous all-time high record last month — as well as the popularity of recently approved Bitcoin spot exchange traded funds (ETFs) is making many investors take another look.
Yet, whether you’re a newbie crypto investor or a more experienced one, experts said there are a slew of rules one should follow.
Do Your Research
Learn about the purpose of the token or blockchain before investing.
Just like corporate stocks, many crypto tokens serve a specific technological or business purpose, said Thomas Hogan, economist with the American Institute for Economic Research.
For instance, Filecoin (FIL) facilitates online file storage. Helium (HNT) supports a WiFi and mobile data network.
“In contrast, meme coins like DOGE and PEPE serve no purpose and are purely for speculation. Are you investing because you like the product or just for ‘number go up?’ Think about it before you buy,” added Hogan.
Other steps in conducting thorough research are to know who the team behind the project is, understand the use case and technology — and to analyze market trends to get a feel for what the larger community thinks about said product.
“Look out for whitepapers, roadmaps and existing use cases. Be wary of meme coins and stay clear of those without a clear purpose,” said Guy Sheetrit, CEO at Over The Top SEO. “Don’t believe everything you read online or hear from influencers.”
Know Your Appetite (and Tolerance) For Risk
Some experts argued that if you’re just getting started, it’s probably best to stick with the bigger, high-liquidity tokens — like BTC, ETH and SOL.
“And then from there, you can start looking further along the risk curve and at trending narratives and future potential use cases,” said Brian D. Evans, CEO and founder of BDE Ventures. “We’re still very early, just like AI [artificial intelligence] is early, so it’s important to take caution when investing in the space. You need to be careful with how to deploy funds.”
Evans added that it’s better to invest strategically and according to your own risk profile.
Jeff Owens, co-founder of layer1 blockchain Haven1, agreed, noting that if you’re just starting out, make sure to start small and only invest what you can.
“Even with all of the success stories out there, crypto investments shouldn’t be viewed as a “get rich quick scheme,” he said. “Treat it as you would any other investment prospect and remember, there’s always risk involved.”
Don’t Invest More Than You Can Afford To Lose
Another key piece of advice: Don’t invest what you’re not prepared to lose, as crypto is inherently volatile and tends to experience massive swings.
“Never invest any money that you aren’t prepared to lose or lose access to. If you have an immediate need for this money in the next 12 months, you should absolutely not be investing into anything risky,” said Stephen Kates, CFP and principal financial analyst for Annuity.org.
Other experts echoed this sentiment, saying it’s best to start small and not expect prices to move in a straight line.
“Trying to time the market is akin to gambling, so just make sure you have a long-term horizon and plenty of liquidity — emergency funds — before diving in,” said Vijay Marolia, co-founder of The Cash Square.
Beware of FOMO
Rebecca Liao, CEO of Saga, stressed how important it is to not FOMO into projects with more money than you’re willing to lose.
“It’s critically important not to overextend yourself,” she said. She noted that the key, like a wise venture investor in any industry, is to make calculated allocations to projects and not go all in on one because you have a hunch or you saw some influencer on X raving about it.
“There are many solid projects in crypto, and the key is to do the necessary research and then invest with an amount of money that fits into your individual risk profile,” added Liao.
Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) Is Your Friend
Dollar cost averaging means that you invest a pre-decided amount of money at regular intervals in your chosen crypto asset, regardless of its price.
“This averages the cost over a period of time. In fact, recent research from Fidelity Investments showed DCA to be a great strategy to lower volatility, particularly in your first year of crypto trading,” Sheetrit indicated.
Make Volatility Your Friend
Marolia also noted that, as Warren Buffett learned from Benjamin Graham, “The market acts like your lunatic business partner — offering you wildly different prices for the same businesses throughout each and every trading day.”
“So cryptocurrencies are the best asset to ‘buy when others are fearful and sell when others are greedy,'” he said, adding that people getting rich fast en masse is almost always a sure sign that you’re near a market top.
“But timing is more difficult than anything in this business,” he added.
Protect Your Crypto With a Reputable Wallet
Hacking and scams are common in the cryptocurrency world.
In turn, several experts underscored the importance of avoiding holding crypto on exchanges.
Instead, invest in a safe, self-contained wallet, said Sheetrit. He added that the most secure wallets are hardware wallets, but these also require a somewhat high degree of technical knowledge.
“Think up a plethora of solutions according to your needs and how competent you are technologically,” he said. “Remember, these are only starting points. Investing in cryptos requires learning through, and keeping up with, the continuous changes.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Crypto Expert: 7 Rules Every Crypto Investor Should Follow
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Friday 19 August 2022
France-based freight forwarder HBI has announced the opening of a new branch in Dubai. The office will support HBI’s customers with their shipments from and to the UAE and the Middle East region.
As a transport organizer, HBI works with a pool of partners that represent it in key global ports. The company has four branches in France located at the major French ports and airports. Internationally, it also has offices in Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and the United States.
Founded in 1987, HBI has developed logistics expertise in industries including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, steel, food, perishable goods, building materials, paper, and furniture. The company uses several logistics platforms, transportation management systems, and warehouse management systems. It recently partnered with Vector.ai to adopt its freight automation platform to enhance the HBI IT ecosystem.
HBI has set up its Dubai office in Jebel Ali Free Zone, a global logistics hub and the world’s largest free trade zone, home to more than 8,700 businesses sustaining 135,000 jobs.


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Georgia and Republic of Korea Signed Agreement on Economic Cooperation
Within the frames of the visit of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, George Kobulia, to the Republic of Korea, an Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of Georgia on Economic Cooperation was signed.
The Agreement was signed by the Vice Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Lee Tae-ho and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Genadi Arveladze. The Agreement will become effective in 30 days.
With the Agreement, the Republic of Korea and Georgia agreed to explore the possibility of joint projects in areas of mutual interest, including investment, trade, tourism and industry, and to continue to strengthen economic cooperation, including people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Georgia and the Republic of Korea will establish a joint committee to effectively implement the Agreement and to explore ways to increase economic cooperation between the two countries. The Commission will discuss the existing bilateral trade and economic relations and possibilities and opportunities for enhanced cooperation in different sectors.
The Agreement between Georgia and the Republic of Korea is targeted at expanding the economic cooperation between the two countries, including the facilitation of the Korean companies to expand their presence in Georgia.
“This Agreement will be another contributing factor to the growth of the foreign trade turnover and the development of the trade and economic cooperation. It will encourage entrepreneurs in to enter the market and implement new investment projects,” – George Kobulia, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development stated after the signing of the Agreement.
Georgia and the Republic of Korea also agreed to start negotiations on conclusion of the Korea-Georgia Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement at a mutually convenient time.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP IN THE ECO SPACE AND BEYOND IS HIGHLIGHTED
At the 15th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, held on November 28, 2021, the Heads of State and Government of the participating countries reflected their vision of the ECO's work and highlighted the unique geo-economic role of the ECO, which has a positive effect on regional cooperation.
In his speech, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov highlighted the essence of interaction between the ECO Member States, united geographically, historically, as well as traditional customs and values. “Our peoples here have centuries-old traditions, valuable experience has been accumulated, which requires its revival, use and enrichment, taking into account modern realities,” President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted.
He made a special emphasis on the further intensification of trade and economic relations between the countries of this format, which is aimed at increasing the volume and diversification of trade. “In this regard, I consider it expedient to think about creating, on the principles of public-private partnership, specialized ECO business platforms, each of which, in its own direction, could purposefully work in the interests of developing and expanding trade relations between our countries,” the Head of Turkmenistan emphasized.
The idea of creating effective mechanisms to ensure stable and dynamic growth of trade and investment partnerships has been put forward. In this regard, the expediency of establishing various forms of cooperation in such segments as the production of industrial goods, agriculture, and the service sector was emphasized. In this context, the Head of state highlighted the importance of economic interaction with the use of high, primarily digital technologies, and the widespread use of electronic trading platforms.
Stating the importance of enhancing cooperation in medicine and health care, the President of Turkmenistan noted the advisability of establishing, within the framework of the ECO, systemic channels for the exchange of experience, methods and best practices in the field of combating dangerous infectious diseases. “Economic cooperation in the ECO space should be accompanied by the expansion of interaction in the cultural and humanitarian sphere,” said President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
THE MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKMENISTAN AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA DISCUSSED COOPERATION ISSUES
Today, on November 18, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Chung Eui-yong.
During the talks, the ministers discussed priority issues of bilateral cooperation in political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
The sides noted the traditionally friendly relations between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea, built on principles of trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit. It was emphasized that regular contacts on topical issues of bilateral agenda contribute to this.
In particular, the sides noted the fruitful cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea in the work of the Joint Business Council, as well as within the multilateral format “Central Asia – Korea”. In this context, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed the agenda of the 14th Central Asia – Korea Cooperation Forum to be held on November 30 this year.
THE HEAD OF TURKMENISTAN DEFINED THE PRIORITIES FOR EFFECTIVE INTERACTION AT THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM IN SEOUL
Today, on November 18, during his video address to the participants of the International Forum for Northern Economic Cooperation, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov underlined the need of further expansion of mutually beneficial dialogue in promising areas of interest.
The Head of Turkmenistan also drew participants’ attention to the most relevant issues of regional agenda and prospects of the development of mutually beneficial partnership in Eurasia. Turkmen-Korean relationship performance in bilateral and multilateral formats was underlined.
Development of effective trade-economic, energy ties, transport-transit corridors became another theme for the discussions.
In his speech the President of Turkmenistan, having noted the significance of the development of cooperation in the sphere of health protection, “green growth”, food security, emphasized the need for activation of a joint work with authoritative international and regional structures.
He also noted great prospects for multilateral activities in the sphere of humanitarian interaction. “The year of 2021 declared by the UN General Assembly on Turkmenistan’s initiative as the Year of Peace and Trust, is coming to an end. This initiative was based on the desire to attract attention of the world community to the need of strengthening of the peace culture and respectful dialogue, eliminating the trust deficit in interstate relations”, said the President of Turkmenistan.
Expanding human contacts through historical, cultural and educational ties, which were also identified as a priority of the Republic of Korea’s New Northern Economic Policy, is put forward as a solution to a common problem.
Alexander Khvtisiashvili has met with the Chairman of the Korea-Georgia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Lee Won-wook
Within the framework of his visit to the Republic of Korea, the Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Khvtisiashvili met with the Chairman of the Korea-Georgia Parliamentary Friendship Group at the National Assembly of Korea, Lee Won-wook.
The sides welcomed the establishment of friendship groups at the parliaments of the two countries, which play an important role in strengthening and further developing ties between Georgia and Korea. The meeting focused on the opportunities to increase inter-parliamentary cooperation. High appraisal was given to the bilateral meeting between the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea within the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Vienna, from 7 to 9 September 2021.
The sides expressed their commitment for active cooperation in 2022, to mark the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Korea.
Economic Watch: Vibrant holiday spending spurs hope for solid, even recovery in China
BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- China's three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday saw booming travel and spending activity as businesses and authorities rushed to fire up the market with innovative stimulus, spurring hope for a more solid and balanced economic recovery.
China saw more than 89 million domestic tourist trips during the holiday from June 12 to 14, up 94.1 percent from last year, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Tourism revenue reached 29.43 billion yuan (about 4.6 billion U.S. dollars), surging 139.7 percent from last year when the sector fell to the blows of the COVID-19 outbreak.
While the data was still below pre-epidemic levels, analysts predict recovery in the consumption market to pick up pace on a wave of spending-stimulating activities, such as tailored services to meet upgrading demand and the rollout of digital RMB red envelopes.
Data by online travel booking agency Ctrip showed total orders on its platform increased 83 percent from last year as tickets and car rental businesses exceeded the level in 2019.
"Young people have gradually become the main force driving holiday consumption, which will accelerate the expansion of new forms of tourism models from the demand side," said Xie Xiaoqing, a senior researcher at Ctrip Research Institute.
In the latest public trial run of China's digital legal tender, the Chinese capital Beijing, with a population of around 22 million, handed out 40 million yuan in digital currency to consumers in a total of 200,000 digital red envelopes, each containing 200 yuan.
The draw results were announced on June 11, the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, as a travel and spending boom was expected.
The diverse efforts to stimulate domestic demand came as recovery of the consumption sector, among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, had lagged behind the more resilient industrial sector, prompting authorities to put more focus on deepening structural reform for balanced recovery in the long term.
China's economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021, as strong domestic and foreign demand powered recovery from a low base in early 2020 when COVID-19 stalled the world's second-largest economy.
Though China's economy has got off to a good start this year, the central leadership stressed that the country's first-quarter data should be viewed dialectically as the recovery is still unbalanced and the foundation not solid.
To harness consumption potential, authorities are setting their sights on the less developed rural areas. Last week, 17 government agencies including the Ministry of Commerce released a plan to promote rural consumption, giving details of how logistics and infrastructure services will be improved in the rural regions.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, more than 380 million parcels had been handled in rural areas, surging 30 percent from the holiday period last year, data by the State Post Bureau showed.
Against the backdrop of regular epidemic prevention and control, the gradual improvement of county commercial and logistics distribution systems, as well as optimized supplies, will help better meet the needs of consumption upgrades and fully release consumption potential, noted Wang Yan, an analyst with the research institute under the Ministry of Commerce.


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The chance to name a new car is precious, a billion-dollar branding exercise with decades of potential staying power. Of the almost 300 vehicle models in the US, roughly a quarter bear names that have been around for 20-plus years – even when the underlying car has changed. The Porsche 911 was introduced back in 1965, one year after Toyota unveiled its first Corolla. Making its debut in 1934, the Chevrolet Suburban is the oldest badge in the business.
Over the past few years, this rite has kicked into overdrive. Carmakers are racing to electrify their product lines and launching new vehicles at a pace not seen in decades. Battery-powered driving offers a cleaner, quieter and eventually cheaper way to travel – an aspirational trifecta that branding squads must distill into a slew of catchy new car names.
It’s not going great.
Take Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker. The company has been perfecting battery-powered vehicles since the late 1990s, and finally unveiled its first mass-market EV in 2022. Its title? The bZ4X. The “bZ” stands for “beyond zero” emissions; the 4 refers to its four-wheel drive and X denotes a crossover shape – all of which is probably lost on the Camry crowd. Not to be outdone, Honda Motor Co. announced that its second EV will be known as the e:Ny1, a gamble on the appeal of a colon.
Over at Jaguar, a driver could be forgiven for assuming the carmaker’s electric option is the E-PACE, but that model has a gas engine. The battery-powered Jag is the I-PACE. And no one could fault a Volkswagen fan for confusing the carmaker’s ID.4, an SUV-shaped EV, with the ID. Buzz, a recast of the company’s famous van.
“Honestly, a lot of these names are just trying too hard,” says David Placek, founder of Lexicon Branding, which helped name Lucid Group Inc., the Subaru Outback and the Honda Ridgeline. “Everyone is kind of scrambling.”
Placek says a great product name needs to check three boxes: It has to be memorable, noteworthy and distinctive within its category. It also helps if the moniker is “what we call ‘processing fluent,'” Placek says. “When the mind looks at it and says ‘OK, I can get that.'”
Many new EV names fall short. They either hew too closely to tradition to feel noteworthy, or stretch so far for distinction that they aren’t memorable.
No one’s saying naming a car is easy, or that doing it poorly is unique to EVs (see: the Daihatsu Naked, the Ford Probe and the Studebaker Dictator). A car’s name may also matter less to consumers than its price tag, range, features and aesthetic. But as an exercise in marketing, the raft of clunky EV names represents a missed opportunity. Just look at Tesla: The company may have failed to spell out “SEXY” with its four models as planned – “Model E” was trademarked by Ford six years before Elon Musk launched his sedan – but the attempt was as memorable, noteworthy and distinct as it was juvenile.
In some cases, today’s EV names also highlight a disconnect between R&D and product planning. Nearly every automaker has set an ambitious timeline to completely switch to electric vehicles, but that memo may have been lost on the people naming the Kia EV6, for example, or the GMC Hummer EV. Those labels will age as well as “the New York Football Giants.”
“They’re just dating themselves,” Placek says. “Within five years almost everyone driving a new car will be in an EV or a hybrid.”
There are also the names that metastasize, tacking on letters or becoming less clear as the variants proliferate. Audi launched its seminal electric vehicle as the “e-tron” – sensible enough – but now it has a slew of e-trons, including the original and a (very different) e-tron GT. Mercedes made a similar hash of it: The company’s EV models include the EQS, EQA, EQB and EQE, as well as the EQS SUV, EQB SUV and EQE SUV. At the very top end, Mercedes also throws an “AMG” into the mix. No one wants to drive an alphabet salad.
Volvo spinoff Polestar Automotive Holding UK Plc, meanwhile, took the iPhone approach: Its first car (no longer in production) was the 1. Now there’s the 2, and 3 is coming soon. Polestar 12 is going to be bananas.
The best EV names arguably aren’t acronyms or jumbles of letters; they’re fresh and nouny and fun to say. General Motors Co. took this route with its Chevrolet Bolt and Cadillac Lyric. Hyundai’s Ioniq clicks nicely. Lucid has its Air, Fisker its Ocean, and Subaru its Solterra. Then there’s Nissan’s Ariya, allegedly a tarting up of the Sanskrit word for noble or admirable. Porsche’s Taycan is a unique choice, but also conjures to mind an elusive jungle beast.
There will be more opportunities to improve upon the current crop of names: In the next year alone, we’ll see 30 all-new EVs in the US, according to BloombergNEF estimates. Until then, pour one out for the Toyota team who pitched “Prius,” which still has a nice snap 25 years on. They must have retired before the bZ4X came along.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Days after protesters stormed and vandalized the premises of Golden Veroleum Liberia in Butaw, Sinoe County the company said it has commenced assessing damages and will complete its work in the coming days. GVL renewed its commitment to local communities in Sinoe and Grand Kru counties.“A team of technicians have been dispatched to Sinoe to assess the level of damages caused,” GVL spokesman Stephen Binda said in a statement. In addition, the company said it has commenced discussions with the Sinoe and Grand Kru Legislative Caucuses, the Liberian National Police in a bid to resolve the matter. With the assessment, Binda said the company’s monthly payroll for employees would be conducted as usual. The company described the violence and looting as a great loss to both GVL and its Butaw community.Binda said while it acknowledges the intervention of government in the matter, GVL has not been officially offered the use of the Sinoe County Development Fund. “It is not our intent to use the county development fund to repair damages,” Binda said. “We absolutely would not accept these funds for any repairs whatsoever. If we are asked to use these funds for damage repair, we would utilize the CDF to the desire of Sinoe citizens and use it directly for urgent county purposes, such as schools, clinics and road building and repair. We will not under any circumstance use the county development fund for any damage repair. Our thought and belief is the county development funds are strictly for the people of Sinoe and not GVL.”On Tuesday of last week, members of the Butaw Youth Association staged a violent protest demanding an immediate meeting with a top GVL official. The company management requested to schedule the meeting for an appropriate time, as it was in the midst of a management coordination meeting.Entrances were later blocked by the Butaw Youth, preventing vehicles and employees’ movement, while stones were thrown at managers and facilities. Several company vehicles were damaged, while others sustained body injuries and properties were looted, causing dozens of GVL employees to flee into nearby bushes for safety.The genesis of the complaint by the Butaw Youth stemmed from an ongoing boundary dispute between Butaw and the neighboring community of Murrysville. GVL indicated in a previous statement that its corporate policy and international standards dictate that the company will not expand into areas with boundary disputes.“Due to the boundary dispute we do understand the frustration with the slow progress in Butaw,” said Binda. “We too have been frustrated by this, however, we have a very clear policy of not entering in disputed areas and this will not change.” Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
The man was detained and later identified by witnesses as one of the robbery suspects. At 5:54 p.m. Tuesday, the station got a call about a robbery that just occurred at the Rockview Dairy, 1584 Imperial Highway in La Mirada. Sheriff’s Sgt. Tara White said the robbers took $111. One of the deputies saw the Cruiser and followed it. White said the car entered a parking lot in Buena Park. She said the driver pulled over a few yards away and was arrested. The deputies evacuated the restaurant and detained the other suspect without incident, White added. Car wash will aid Adame family LA MIRADA – Deputies evacuated a Denny’s restaurant in Buena Park when an armed suspect in a La Mirada robbery ran inside Tuesday night. The man and the driver of the getaway car, a white 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser, were later arrested. John Barrows, 18, and Adam Charles Mitchell, 21, were booked on suspicion of robbery and were being held at the sheriff’s Norwalk Station in lieu of $100,000 bail. Deputies also recovered money and a TEC-9 pistol put in a trash receptacle in the women’s restroom, according to Capt. Patrick Maxwell. The money was hidden under a cone that warned patrons of wet floors, he added. Maxwell said the suspect who ran into the Denny’s tried to mix in with the customers and to walk out with them as the restaurant was being evacuated. But Maxwell said deputies had seen the man through the window and knew who he was. A car wash to help defray the funeral costs for 2006 California High School graduate Jose Luis Adame Jr. will be staged from 9a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Faith Lutheran Church, 9920 Mills Ave. The cost is a minimum $5 donation. Police said Adame, 19, was driving a Nissan 300 ZX on Monday night when he lost control, hit a palm tree, a traffic signal standard and overturned. He died at the scene. Benton School enrollment open LA MIRADA – Benton Middle School, 15709 Olive Branch Road, is accepting applications for the upcoming school year. The first day of instruction is Sept. 5. Some applicants may require permit approval from the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District office. For more information, call (562) 943-1553. Chamber mixer set for Sept. 5 SANTA FE SPRINGS – The Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly business card exchange from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sept. 5 at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, 12401 Washington Blvd., Whittier. Cost is $15 for members and $25 for non-members. For more information, call (562) 944-1616. Recreation classes to start Sept. 10 WHITTIER – The city is offering new classes, beginning Sept. 10 at various locations in the city, including the Community Center, and Palm and Parnell parks. New classes include tumbling for cheer, color pencil portraiture, oil painting for kids, and tamale making. Continuing classes include arts and crafts, fitness, cheerleading, ballroom dancing, martial arts, music and skateboarding. Fees range from $13 to $150. For more information, call (562) 464-3430. – From staff reports160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
1 Sam Allardyce Allardyce will become the first person to manage both Sunderland and north-east rivals Newcastle.The 60-year-old said: “I have enjoyed my break from football and now I’m raring to get back. I met with Ellis and we spoke at length about the club and his ambitions and I knew I wanted to be part of that. “I hope to be able to help to bring the stability and success that everyone wants.“Of course it’s a challenging job, but it’s something I have experience of in the past. I’m looking forward to working with the players and of course I will be relying on the help of the Sunderland supporters, whose tremendous passion I have experienced first-hand. I can’t wait to get started.” Chairman Ellis Short expressed his delight at the appointment and rejected suggestions Allardyce needed to be persuaded to take the job.He said: “I am very pleased to welcome Sam to our football club. “Sunderland is a club he knows well and he was the obvious best choice for the job. He has vast experience of managing in the Premier League and an understanding first-hand of the north east and the passion of our fans, which will stand him in great stead.“I would like to assure our fans that once Dick made us aware of his intention to leave, Lee Congerton oversaw an organised and structured recruitment process, that bore very little resemblance to what has been described in the media. “For example, this was a very popular job, proactively sought after by a large number of managers – contrary to much of what has been portrayed. The process was made easier by the fact that Sam was such an obvious choice.“The other misconception is that Sam had to be persuaded to join us; nothing could be further from the truth. From the very beginning, he understood the importance of this job and showed great enthusiasm for the role and a desire to be part of moving this club forward.” Sunderland have announced the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager on a two-year deal.The club revealed the news on Twitter following the departure of Dick Advocaat last week. ALLARDYCE APPOINTED: Sam Allardyce has been appointed as the new manager of #SAFC. http://t.co/efniZpTfuw pic.twitter.com/H6d3SleqDQ— Sunderland AFC 🔴⚪ (@SunderlandAFC) October 9, 2015
Sean Raggett heads home the winner for Lincoln Lincoln City stunned Burnley to become the first non-league side in 103 years to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.Sean Raggett’s dramatic last-minute header secured the National League leaders an historic 1-0 win at Turf Moor.It was fully deserved too, with Danny Cowley’s side producing a brilliant battling performance against their Premier League opponents.Burnley have won nine of their 14 top-flight games at home this season and named a strong XI to take on the Imps, who are 80 places below them in the football ladder.But the Clarets could find no way past their superbly-organised visitors and were left shell-shocked with one minute left when Lincoln made the breakthrough.Sam Habergham’s corner was headed back across goal by Luke Waterfall and Raggett rose highest at the back post to nod the ball over the line.There was a nervous finish as Burnley piled on the pressure in stoppage time, but Lincoln held on to keep their remarkable FA Cup adventure going.The Imps, who had seen off Ipswich and Brighton earlier in the competition, are the first team from outside of the Football League to reach the last eight since QPR in 1914.Sutton will now bid to make it two non-league teams in the quarter-finals on Monday, when they host Arsenal – a match you can listen to live on talkSPORT. 1
Nat Coombs & Andy Brassell are joined by experts from around Europe to discuss the latest football stories and look ahead to the weekend’s action.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will slow the pace of new store openings next year in what analysts called a nod to Wall Street calls for greater focus on rekindling faltering sales and earnings growth at its existing 6,700 stores worldwide. Wal-Mart also told analysts Monday, the first day of its two-day investor meeting, that it would sharply reduce the rise in capital spending next year, helped by a flattening in inflation of construction and land costs and by opening fewer new stores. Wal-Mart said it remains committed to expansion. But analysts said the change was a step toward meeting Wall Street expectations that Wal-Mart, after years of rapid growth, now focus on improving sales and profitability at existing stores to revive a dormant share price. Its shares rose more than 3 percent in midday trading Monday. The share price has hovered mostly below $50 since early 2001. And for five years, it has failed to match 2001 highs over $60. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORESurfer attacked by shark near Channel Islands calls rescue a ‘Christmas miracle’“It’s somewhat of a shift. Is it a major earthquake shift? No. But it’s the start of a shift where they could indeed move to capitalize on what has already been built,” said retail analyst Don Gher from Coldstream Capital Management in Bellevue, Wash., which manages about $1 billion in assets including Wal-Mart shares. Fund manager Patricia Edwards said even a small move was a welcome step in the right direction. “They need to focus on building the business they have instead of starting new ones,” said Edwards, a portfolio manager and retail analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich in Seattle, which manages $8.2 billion in assets and holds 51,000 Wal-Mart shares. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart has been expanding its retail space at 8 percent per year, but that number will be 7.5 percent next fiscal year, the company said. Its fiscal year runs through Jan. 31. Wal-Mart expects to open 305 to 330 U.S. stores in fiscal 2008, which starts next Feb. 1, compared with 332 to 340 this year and about 340 the year before. Wal-Mart International, operating in 13 countries in Latin America, Asia and Europe, will open between 320 and 330 new stores next year after 270 to 275 this year. Wal-Mart remains committed to growth, but real-estate projects “are now being subjected to a more rigorous prioritization process,” Wal-Mart Vice Chairman John Menzer told analysts. In February, Menzer said Wal-Mart planned to open more than 1,500 U.S. stores in the coming years, without providing a more specific timeline. Wal-Mart Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe told analysts that the company will increase capital spending between 2 percent and 4 percent in fiscal 2008. That is down from 15 percent to 20 percent growth this year. “Our long-term goal is to continue to have our capital expenditures grow at a rate equal to or less than sales growth,” Schoewe said. Wal-Mart sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, have been trailing those at smaller rivals such as Target Corp. Last month, same-store U.S. sales were up 1.3 percent at Wal-Mart and 6.7 percent at Target. In response, Wal-Mart is remodeling about 1,800 of its roughly 2,000 Supercenters, which combine a discount store with a full grocery section, to make them more appealing by adding amenities such as wider aisles, faux wood floors, cleaner restrooms and trendier merchandise in electronics, apparel and home furnishings. September sales were impacted in part by disruption from those remodeling efforts, said Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores. Castro-Wright told analysts that same-store sales so far this month were running about 1 percent higher, saying remodeling and slower sales of women’s apparel kept the number down.160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
Are you dating? A couple? Neither? Both? Who knows? But you do know if you ASK, it’ll ruin everything, so you don’t. You just torture yourself. That’s dating now. Apparently, the big trend in dating now is the “several-night stand.” That’s where you hang out with someone a few times a week . . . get-it-on with them . . . but you never define your relationship at all. Modern dating is like 93% mind games.
The night manager of an Illinois Walgreens was having problems with a woman he suspected of shoplifting, so he called someone who lived around the corner and used to work for a security firm.The ex-guard arrived at the Northwest Side store within minutes Wednesday night and started struggling with the 46-year-old woman, finally pushing her to the floor and shooting her once in the head, according to a law enforcement source. She was carrying five boxes of leggings and a black T-shirt.The gunman picked up a single shell casing, walked out and drove off in his SUV, police said. He remained at large Thursday afternoon, though police say they know his name and where he lives, less than two blocks from the. He once worked for Monterrey Security and has a record of arrests on drug, assault and impersonating a federal employee charges. A police report says nothing about the woman being armed… Herald&Review- Sponsor – Stay UpdatedGet critical information for loss prevention professionals, security and retail management delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now
Related Posts What it Takes to Build a Highly Secure FinTech … Outside of Quickplay, the organization of the various menus and options is less confusing. It’s pretty obvious that “collection” means my stuff, and “phone” is what’s on my device, for example.The software is busy providing tips, however, like “did you know that pictures from your phone can be uploaded automatically to photos.live.com?” I find tips annoying, personally. Just do it already! Of course, not everyone wants their photos online (even if the privacy settings were set in advance for you so you were the only one who could view the photos). But a better use of this space, if necessary at all, would be an action item that reads: “Check this box to automatically upload photos to Live.com. You can change this later in the Settings,” or something of that nature. You should be able to switch the setting on immediately, from the tip itself, without being directed to the settings. Otherwise, the software should leave you alone. Why IoT Apps are Eating Device Interfaces Tags:#Microsoft#mobile#Op-Ed#Product Reviews#web For Windows users, there isn’t a Microsoft Connector for iTunes, even though many PC users have iTunes installed and use the software with their iPods and iPads. PC users are expected to use Microsoft’s own Zune software instead. This is an interesting strategy on Microsoft’s part because it assumes that no Mac users would want the full Zune experience and no PC users would prefer syncing with iTunes. I think that’s misguided, to be kind. In truth, I think this narrow-minded viewpoint about Mac vs. PC users is outdated – not everyone is a zealot for one platform or the other, you know. We like to have options. I wouldn’t mind a Zune for Mac program, personally, especially since Zune offers a Wi-Fi sync feature.But since this house is equipped with Windows PCs, too, I fired one up to see how the other half lives.Zune Software for PC UsersThe Zune PC software was a hefty download and long install, but not much worse than I’ve seen with the first installation of iTunes, to be fair.The interface, inspired by the “Metro UI” (user interface) of Windows Phone itself, delivers the same stylings as on the phone, but on a wider screen. I feel it works less well here than on the phone, at least on the main screen of the Zune software – the feature called “Quickplay.” This feature is designed to provide quick access to recent and favorite content.But the screen, especially for new users, seems too busy – why are those pictures displaying? How did it determine these were my favorite bands? Quickplay is an interesting experiment in user interface design, but should probably not be the first thing users see upon the first installation and launch of the software. The “summary” page for the phone would be a more traditional, and in my opinion, better option. Speaking of Zune’s subscription feature, it’s just not well-developed in comparison with competing services like those from MOG, Rdio and Spotify. Thankfully, Rdio is available for Windows Phone 7 now and Spotify is on its way. MOGgers, like myself, are out of luck. (Another reason why I can’t fully leave Android at present. MOG, get it on it, please!)You can’t do much with Zune Pass while mobile, either, besides playing and pausing music. You can’t favorite tunes, build playlists, subscribe to others’ playlists, or anything else. On the desktop and the Web, you can do much more. Zune even has an online “social” platform where you can friend and follow others who have similar tastes. It’s odd this was not extended to mobile.ConclusionWhile the few items I’ve mentioned are critical, on the whole, the Zune PC software is not bad. The main issue for me is that the sync needs to run faster, but I have not yet ruled out a problem with my PC on this (it is older, has USB 1.0 ports, for what it’s worth). Plus, I’m sure you could make a list of iTunes annoyances which was just as long as this. In addition, although I didn’t care for Quickplay, you may feel otherwise – you may even enjoy the serendipitous discovery it provides.But in the end, I don’t like that Microsoft is intent on providing different experiences for Mac and PC users. That’s not to say it should discontinue its iTunes Connector for Mac, but that should be an alternative to the Zune software, not the only option.Microsoft should also spend more time with Zune Pass, and make it more of a competitive option. If anything, Microsoft was ahead of the game here, offering subscription music before it was popular. But now that services like Rdio and Spotify are making headlines, Microsoft has stalled on its development of Zune Pass, allowing third-parties to outdo the experience Microsoft has actually baked into its mobile operating system itself. How very Microsoft!Although nothing about Zune Pass was mentioned as coming in the Mango update, I would love to be surprised with a wholly revamped service later this fall. In the meantime, I want my MOG back. I want my Wi-Fi hotspot. I want my speedy Wi-Fi sync for Mac. In short, I want my Android.Sorry, Windows Phone. You’re pretty, but I need you to be powerful, too. I’ll check back in with the platform after Mango to see how it’s improved. But for now, Windows Phone is being relegated back to secondary status. sarah perez Ah, but this is Microsoft after all, home of Clippy. Helpfully guiding users through their software has not typically been their forté.For example, in the Marketplace, the tip here warned me that these apps below were for Windows Phone 7 only, which was entirely unnecessary, considering that my phone was plugged in and syncing at the time. Did it not know what device I had? Another waste of space. Role of Mobile App Analytics In-App Engagement One major issue I experienced while on Windows was that the syncing seemed to take much longer than the same sync on the Mac, or an iPhone-to-iTunes sync of the same content on either Mac or PC. I’m not quite sure what the holdup was.It’s important to get syncing right, too. If you’ve ever been rushing out the door, only to realize you forgot to sync your iPhone, you know how painful it is to watch a sync in progress in iTunes. It was so much worse in Zune on Windows, at least in my experience.That said, there is at least a Wi-Fi sync option available, but it only activates when your phone is plugged into a wall outlet and not in use. You cannot trigger it to start from your phone itself. This feature assumes that everyone syncs their phone at night, before bed. I sync mine during the day, before I leave the house, so I have new podcasts to listen to while traveling. Again, it’s a case of Microsoft thinking for me, and not getting it quite right. It’s a shame, because a Wi-Fi sync feature is an outstanding differentiator for the Zune software.Another unique feature for Zune is the “Channels” feature, which lets you subscribe to automatically refreshing lists of songs within a given genre (e.g. “Pop”). It’s not a bad feature at all, if you’re not particular about your music or just like to stay on top of what’s popular. However, given that I was a Zune Pass subscriber at the time, I don’t understand why these Channels were not available as streams, but only as downloads. Why on earth would I want to have to constantly wait for songs to download if I’ve already bought the streaming music subscription?Besides, I don’t want to lose space on my device to songs I’m only sampling. Great idea, but poor execution. As a part of an experiment to really understand the value and the shortcomings of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform, I recentlymade the HTC HD7 my primary device. The only exception to this is when I travel, when a mobile hotspot (such as is provided by my Nexus S) is a necessity. I don’t know that this experiment can last much longer, however, because today’s Windows Phone is simply not powerful enough for my day-to-day needs. When the “Mango” update (due this fall) is released, that may change.In the meantime, I spent a little time playing around with the desktop software side of the Windows Phone experience, which is notably different depending on whether you’re a Mac or PC person. Different, however, doesn’t necessarily mean better or worse, I’ve found.On the MacAs a Mac user myself, I initially found Microsoft’s Windows Phone Connector for Mac surprisingly good. This desktop software allows a Mac end user to sync their phone with the music, videos, photos and podcasts from iTunes and iPhoto. In regular use (I sync several times per week, for podcast updates), I’ve had zero trouble with the software, in terms of crashes or bugs. The only exception was the first time I attempted to install the WP7 update called “NoDo” – it didn’t take and I had to start over. Other than that, the experience has been on par (or, in terms of podcast sync, even better than) using DoubleTwist, a similar tool which lets me sync my Android to iTunes. Windows Phone Connector is very easy, capable and fast.But unlike DoubleTwist, it lacks wireless sync, sadly. The Rise and Rise of Mobile Payment Technology


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Leaders from six innovative sectors will guide federal efforts to create new business opportunities and jobs for Canadians
OTTAWA, Nov. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Six industry leaders are being tasked with guiding the Government of Canada's efforts to ensure middle-class Canadians have access to well-paying jobs today and in the future. The six leaders will chair the government's Economic Strategy Tables, which represent high-growth industries.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, today announced that Tobias Lütke, Founder and CEO of Shopify, headquartered in Ottawa, will chair the digital industries table. Mr. Lütke joins the four previously announced chairs:
- Charles Deguire, Co-founder of Kinova Robotics of Boisbriand, Quebec, who is chairing the advanced manufacturing table;
- Murad Al-Katib, President and CEO of AGT Food and Ingredients of Regina, Saskatchewan, who is chairing the agri-food table;
- Karimah Es Sabar, CEO of and partner in Quark Venture of Vancouver, British Columbia, who is chairing the health/bio-sciences table; and
- Audrey Mascarenhas, President and CEO of Questor Technology of Calgary, Alberta, who is chairing the clean technology table.
Each chair will preside over a group of approximately 15 members as they guide federal efforts to create the conditions for long-term growth that lead to new business opportunities and middle-class jobs for Canadians.
There are technology disruptions in virtually every sector of the economy, and the government is ensuring that Canadian businesses and people have the information and skills they need to benefit from all emerging technologies.
The Economic Strategy Table chairs were selected based on the advice of industry leaders and associations as well as federal government departments. The chairs, working with federal government departments, will choose the 15 members for their tables. Industry chairs and table members represent a diverse group of experts from six high-growth sectors.
The Economic Strategy Tables will set ambitious growth targets for Canadian innovators, identify sector-specific challenges and create a roadmap to support Canada's global success.
The chair of the clean resources table will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Economic Strategy Tables are part of the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan to create well-paying jobs and strengthen the middle class by investing in high-growth sectors where Canada has a globally competitive advantage.
"The sectors that drive innovation are where the middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow are created. Our government is committed to working with entrepreneurs and innovators to generate new business opportunities, create good middle-class jobs and equip Canadians with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. Our government looks forward to working with industry partners through the Economic Strategy Tables to turn high-growth Canadian companies into global successes."
– The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
- Each table will present a report of its findings and recommendations by summer 2018.
- These tables will support the government's goal of doubling the number of high-growth Canadian companies to 28,000 from 14,000 by 2025.
Follow Minister Bains on Twitter: @MinisterISED
SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
For further information: Karl W. Sasseville, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, 343-291-2500; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]


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May 11, 2023
One thing led to another in a recent conversation with Melissa Hansen, Research Program Director of the Washington State Wine Commission.
We started off talking about this year’s research survey of wine grape growers and wineries, conducted to identify top wine research priorities, and ended up discussing several items of interest to grape growers and vintners.
“The survey resulted in only about two-thirds the usual number of respondents,” she admitted. “The yearly input is a key component of Washington’s viticulture and enology research efforts, a priority list used by scientists to develop research proposals of project needs specific to the Washington wine industry. It’s to make sure we’re not missing any industry issues that may have popped up since the last survey.
“Respondents rank current research categories, things like fermentation management, wine aroma and flavor, climate impact, pest management, and mechanization. This year the aroma/flavor issues and smoke taint impact edged out all the other topics.”
The impact of climate issues was mentioned frequently by survey takers. “Climate impacts here have not been as great as in California and Oregon,” she said. “Our rain and snowfall is still under last year’s numbers, so nobody’s panicking on that front, although we still have the possibility of frost or freeze events before we have to worry about heat waves. Flowering can go almost to the end of June and we had a cold spring last year that delayed developmental progress. We had three crop years in a row where weather, from either frost or sunburn, reduced the crop.”
Hansen alluded to a Japanese beetle battle, primarily in the Grandview area, with the Department of Agriculture putting on a full court press to minimize and eliminate the pest threat in that locale. “We don’t want the beetle throughout the state, that’s for sure,” she said.
What did prompt a smile was the acknowledgement of a larger, better quality crop in 2022 and a chance for better things to come this year. “We started off slow, but caught up and had a great fall where everything that wanted to get picked got picked. I heard some winemakers say they hadn’t had grapes like this before.”
WSWC’s recently released Grape Production Report showed 240,000 tons harvested last year, an increase of 34% over the prior year. The Commission called it “a standout vintage” based on growing conditions that allowed fruit time to ripen “perfectly” — contributing to bigger berries and clusters. The Cabernet Sauvignon variety again claimed top honors with 28% of total production with Chardonnay coming in second at 16% of the total. White varieties (especially Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc) experienced a 50% increase while reds grew by 23%.
Under the assumption that similar conditions and seasonality might return this year, Hansen opined: “I would think we could have somewhat of a similar yield as we’ve had some cold temperatures, but no winter damage, per se, and I haven’t heard of any big concerns.”
With dormancy about to end and new growth about to get underway, optimism abounds as nature works its way to the harvest season. “Traditionally we pick some of the whites in August with the reds getting going in mid-September although last year there was a big crunch with wineries trying to schedule because everything started coming in at one time. It’s nice to have the varieties evenly spaced, but you don’t always get that.”
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The publisher of Wine Spectator magazine, M. Shanken Communications, has filed a lawsuit accusing California-based Weed Spectator of infringing its trademarks. The Wine Spectator lists the copying of its notable 100-point rating scale and branding as grounds for the case.
M. Shanken claim that Modern Wellness inc’s company, Weed Spectator, created a similar website and social media pages that, not only use the same features – such as the 100 point rating scale – but that the similarities in the branding results in searches for Weed Spectator returning with the Wine Spectator – potentially confusing Wine Spectator’s 3 million readers.
The company also claim that the logo Wellness Inc had filed to trademark earlier this year contains the same font as their Wine Spectator logo. The lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court is seeking an injunction against Modern Wellness from using the Weed Spectator mark, and to receive triple damages for dilution.


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Today at its event in San Francisco California, Apple revealed that the latest update to Mac OS X – Mavericks – will be launched today as a free download to Macintosh users.
This release follows the company’s conference held in June, when it unveiled version 10.9 of Mac OS X, and promised the operating system would be available for download in autumn.
A new move for Apple, Mavericks is being released for download free of charge, following in the footsteps of Apple’s prominent competitor Microsoft, which recently released the 8.1 update of Windows for free to all Windows 8 users.
Circumstances are now unique for Apple which, unlike Microsoft, only sells Mac OS X as a component for its computers. OS X is not a standalone product and, assuming that Apple continues the trend of free updates, the company will never actually sell its operating system as a product to anybody ever again.
But then, given the infamously high prices of Macintosh computers, that’s probably only fair. In fact, it’s almost inconceivable that Apple ever charged for updates in the first place. Even at costs of less than $50, these updates piled onto the already heavy financial burdens of a regular Apple customer.
Mavericks carries a number of upgrades from the previous version of OS X, including iCloud keychain support, redesigned apps, improvements to the Safari Web Browser and more. The 5.29 gigabyte update is available for download now in the Mac App Store.
Source: Apple Special Event


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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California did not take President Obama up on his offer to extend canceled health policies. The five-member board that oversees California’s health insurance marketplace, known as Covered California, voted unanimously Thursday to stay the course and cancel policies that didn’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
The board’s decision had been widely anticipated, but at the public hearing in Sacramento there was an audible sigh of relief by consumer advocates and insurance company representatives when the vote became clear.
The Affordable Care Act had required health plans to cancel about 1 million policies in California that didn’t meet the new rules of the law, including bans on lifetime caps for medical expenses and products that didn’t cover hospitalizations.
The board seemed leery of stripping away those consumer protections to aid what amounts to the 1-percent of Californians – or about 295,000 people – who are facing rate increases and don’t qualify for federal financial aid. Of those policyholders, about half have what are considered “thin” plans, insurance policies with skimpy benefits. They are expected to face significant increases, according to state officials.
The board also expressed concern that extending canceled policies would confuse consumers even more than they already are and disrupt the surge in enrollment in Covered California. Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access, said the state needed to provide targeted financial relief to those affected “but you don’t want to lose the momentum for the millions and millions of people who could get benefits.”
These are the difficult trade-offs, said Covered California board member Dr. Bob Ross during the public meeting. “We are in moving from a dizzying and discriminatory health insurance system to one that is not perfect, but is greatly improved.”
Instead, the board voted to give consumers an additional week, until December 23rd , to sign up for new coverage, and beginning next Monday, consumers with canceled policies will have a special hot line staffed by experts to try to ease the transition.
Not everyone applauded the vote. The state’s insurance commissioner, Dave Jones, who has no authority over the exchange, had pressed the board to allow policyholders to renew their existing plans. He said consumers would be forced to lose their preferred doctors and hospitals and face higher premiums.


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Rockstar Games is under increased pressure to release a PC port of Grand Theft Auto 5 after a fan petition demanding the move passed 200,000 signatures.
Fewer than 100,000 more people must pledge their support to the Change.org campaign before an official request is mailed to the studio.
The movement has gained momentum in recent months, adding around 50,000 signatures since February, according to GameSpot.
Recent reports suggest that a PC version of Grand Theft Auto 5 is likely, with a job advertisement at Rockstar hinting at home computer ports and retailers listing the game for the platform.
Grand Theft Auto 5's first gameplay trailer was released earlier this month.
Grand Theft Auto 5 will arrive on Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 17.
Watch the first gameplay trailer below:


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The average Japanese person is considerably more negative about ageing than their global counterparts, a new study by McCann Worldgroup suggests.
The agency’s ‘Truth about age’ study canvassed 24,000 people across 28 markets. It found that 56 percent of Japanese respondents versus 47 percent globally see ageing as a problem. At the same time, a quarter of global respondents—by far the highest—said they see Japan has having the world’s healthiest ageing population.
The difference in perception is startling. Nearly half of Japanese see getting older as representing the ‘slow decline of mind and body’. That compares with just 26 percent globally who share that pessimistic outlook. Japan also has one of the highest proportions of ‘youth chasers’—people who are at pains to continue to look and feel young. This alone suggests the typical ‘senior’-oriented ad, which hammers home the point that its target audience is ‘senior’, seems wildly off the mark.
Just under a quarter of Japanese people see ageing as a case of gaining wisdom and experience, against 32 percent globally. And only 35 percent (against 57 percent globally) look forward to their next birthday.
That may be understandable taking into account the lack of prestige being old carries these days: just 57 percent of Japanese respondents said they respect the older generation—the least next to Korea at 48 percent.
The study also found that those most worried about ageing are in their 20s and 30s—46 percent and 50 percent respectively, suggesting brands can play a role in addressing those concerns and providing reassurance. Just 32 percent of people aged 70 or above give much thought to ageing.
In a twist unique to Japan, men (25 percent) see ageing as a bigger problem than women (15 percent) do. Globally, 33 percent of women are concerned at the prospect of ageing versus 15 percent of men.
People are naturally sceptical of large brands and their intentions. Yet globally—if respondents are to be believed—83 percent think brands can help make the world a better place. Suzanne Powers, McCann’s global chief strategy officer, presenting the findings in Tokyo, said part of that should mean helping people to age in “a more enlightened way”.
Globally, Google is most widely seen as the company helping people age more positively: 68 percent listed it as such. Yet few industries really seem to understand how to relate to ageing consumers. The beauty sector fares best, with 39 percent saying they think it understands the ageing population. By contrast, just 24 percent think the fashion industry does.
What it means for brands
As a marketer, it’s worth pausing to consider just why Japan is so negative about ageing. Unusually for a country that is so famous for longevity, far from presenting the positive aspects of getting older, TV programmes and accompanying advertising tends to be based on fear, even if only subtly: fear of loss of health, loss of looks, loss of vitality.
John Woodward, McCann’s chief strategy officer for Japan, suggested that it’s high time for brands to consider how to create “positivity out of ageing”. At the same time, unhelpful stereotypes of ageing are of course not limited to Japanese marketing. Given that Japan is known internationally for its ageing population, which is seen positively, the country can potentially set an example to the world in innovating senior-focused communications.
Woodward pointed to Masako Wakamiya, a speaker at the presentation who developed an iPhone application at the age of 82, as an example of the active senior segment brands should celebrate. She is not a ‘youth chaser’; she is someone who is comfortable with her age and who has remained active throughout her life. She is surely not alone. Brands are in a position to help create icons that can help break down stereotypes and have a positive impact on attitudes to ageing, Woodward suggested.
“Celebrating people who are doing amazing things will create a better environment. There’s the assumption that creativity is the province of the young but there’s no reason that should be the case. There’s no reason you can’t carry on creating at any age.”
Powers gave the example of an international campaign by L’Oréal, a McCann client, featuring the British actress Helen Mirren as someone who is comfortable with ageing, to suggest how brands can influence culture. The work has apparently been well received by young people (who are among the most concerned about ageing) as well as the older generation. It’s important “not to fall into some of those societally-imposed stereotypes,” she said. “If brands just start with an attitudinal approach rather than a demographic approach, we’re going to have a more enlightened conversation.”
Globally, a problem seems to be the shortage of older staff in advertising agencies, which makes relating to senior consumers difficult. Powers said ageism in the industry—the deliberate exclusion of older professionals—is pervasive. Diversity of age as well as in more obvious areas like gender and ethnicity can lead to better work, she said.


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It’s like being able to open and close your sunroof, without having to open and close it. Mercedes-Benz is calling this innovation Magic Sky Control. It’s a glass roof that uses electrical charging to reposition particles in the glass according to whether you want to allow light in or block it.
This is one of those options that comes at a pretty steep price — “below 2,000 Euros ($2,800),” Mercedes says a little vaguely, suggesting it’s indeed not far below that figure. But the benefits are pretty nifty, as Mercedes helpfully points out in a press release: “In transparent mode it will offer an open-air experience during cold weather, while in darkened mode it will afford a haven of shade and prevent the interior from heating up in direct sunlight.”
The roof, which works with the touch of an overheard switch, will be available on the company’s new SLK next year. Mercedes says the technology behind the roof is based on “the physics of a plate condenser.” Sending a charge into the glass shifts particles into a position that clears the glass and allows light to pass through; without the charge, the particles position randomly, the glass turns dark and light is blocked.
Mercedes did wedge a green benefit into its Magic Sky Control announcement, suggesting that by providing cooling on warm days, “some of the strain is taken off the air-conditioning system, thereby in turn saving on CO2 emissions.”
Would you like to get EarthTechling’s Green News Buzz delivered to your inbox weekly? Sign up by November 12, 2010 and you could win a Voltaic Solar Fuse Solar Charger from EarthTechling.


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iPhone 3.1 Beta 2 Released – Bye Bye Tethering?3
It seems Apple comes out with a new OS update every day. The latest update, iPhone 3.0 OS beta 2, is out, and it puts an end to one of my favorite activities on iPhone. I am talking about tethering. In the past few months, folks have been trying to get tethering going on iPhone even though it was frowned upon by AT&T and Apple. Apple has decided that enough is enough and has decided to disable tethering for iPhone for now until AT&T officially releases its official tethering solution on iPhone.
We all know AT&T will be looking for more ways to make money with iPhone and charging for tethering is going on the top of its agenda. In fact, the company can overcharge you if you use tethering without its permission. But with the latest iPhone OS release, you are not going to find it easy to get tethering going on your phone. And if you have a jailbroken iPhone, you may want to stay away for iPhone 3.1 beta 2 as well.
One can’t help but be excited about the direction that Apple is taking the platform. Tethering or not, it’s obvious that Apple is working towards creating a super mobile video platform on iPhone. iPhone is a very capable device and Apple hasn’t even scratched the surface with it. Nevertheless, it would be nice if Apple brought more carriers on to give us consumers more options. AT&T is a decent company but no one single company should have the exclusive rights to this great gadget.
[…] a week it’s been. First, we get a new iPhone 3.0 beta release that effectively ends free tethering on iPhone. It’s no secret that AT&T is planning to charge a bit for that feature, so it was the […]
Please don’t download 3.1 let’s picket and keep our free tethering we can join hands and fight this AT&T warlord email me if u would like to trash AT&T stores
I have no problem doing that. I love being able to tether on my phone. 🙂


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Fans visiting the D23 Expo this weekend are in for a treat. A newly unveiled model of the Star Wars themed land is on hand. This will give fans a much closer look at what they will experience when it opens in 2019. Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek unveiled the model during a special preview on Thursday night ahead of the D23 Expo. “To say we are excited for the Star Wars-themed lands to open in 2019 is an understatement,” Chapek said. “All along, we have said this will be game-changing, and through the model we can begin to see how truly epic these immersive new worlds will be.”
In both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests will be transported to a remote trading port on a new planet. It is one of the last stops before Wild Space. It also is home to multiple Star Wars characters and they will be coming to life!
On this new Star Wars planet guests will find two adventurous attractions to experience. One will let guests take over the controls of the Millennium Falcon and take her on a customized secret mission. The other will put guests in the middle of a battle between the First Order and the Resistance.
The Star Wars themed land is scheduled to open to guests in 2019 at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood studios.
Stay tuned to DAPs Magic for more coverage of the Star Wars themed lands and also the D23 Expo! Subscribe using the form on the right side of the page to make sure and never miss anything!
What do you think of the Star Wars themed land model?
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek Reveals Epic, Detailed Model of Star Wars-Themed Lands
Guests can enjoy a first look at the stunning model during D23 Expo 2017
ANAHEIM, Calif. (July 13, 2017) – During a special preview of D23 Expo 2017, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek unveiled a first look at the epic, richly detailed model of the Star Wars-themed lands under development at Disneyland park in Anaheim, Calif. and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla. This stunning exhibition, on display in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ “A Galaxy of Stories” pavilion at D23 Expo, is yet another example of the breathtaking new worlds, immersive storytelling and transformational guest experiences that set Disney apart.
“To say we are excited for the Star Wars-themed lands to open in 2019 is an understatement,” Chapek said. “All along, we have said this will be game-changing, and through the model we can begin to see how truly epic these immersive new worlds will be.”
Chapek plans to share exciting new details about the project during the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Hall D23 Presentation on Saturday. The model will remain on display at the pavilion throughout the weekend to give visitors an up-close look at what’s to come on this never-before seen planet. In addition, the pavilion will display models, artwork and media that provide a first-ever look at some of the locations, starships, creatures, and droids that guests will encounter when they visit this new planet.
At D23 Expo 2015, The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced the Star Wars project to the delight of thousands of fans in attendance. The jaw-dropping new lands will open with two anchor attractions – one that gives guests the chance to pilot the Millennium Falcon on a customized secret mission, and one that puts guests right in the middle of a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. Representing the largest single-themed land expansion at 14 acres each, the Star Wars-themed lands will open in 2019.
However, guests don’t need to wait until 2019 to be immersed in the Star Wars galaxy. From special character encounters to fan-favorite attractions like Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, and interactive entertainment like Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, guests of all ages can experienceStar Wars stories at Disney parks and resorts around the world. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2uj8WYV.
About Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are where dreams come true. More than sixty years ago, Walt Disney created a new kind of entertainment families could experience together, immersed in detailed atmospheres and vibrant storytelling. His vision now includes a collection of six of the world’s leading family vacation destinations – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif.; Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Tokyo Disney Resort, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan; Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France; Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, located on Lantau Island; and Shanghai Disney Resort, Pudong New District, Shanghai, China. In addition, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts includes the world-class Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club; Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa; Adventures by Disney, a guided group vacation experience to some of the world’s most popular destinations; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs all Disney parks, resorts and attractions.


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A family-owned winery in Marlborough plans to more than double its production base by 2015 to almost 700 hectares of grapes despite a downturn in the industry.
Marisco Vineyards has just bought the historic 2000 hectare Leefield Station in the Waihopai Valley, which was first settled in the 1840s.
Co-owner and chief winemarker Brent Marris says it will allow the company to significantly increase production of its wines, which are currently made from grapes grown on a 268 hectare block in the valley.
"We need more of what we're producing, that is the problem, I need more sauvignon blanc, more chardonnay, more pinot noir, more pinot gris.
"The brands are so strong, literally, if I had 200 hectares of that property planted today, I could be selling that fruit."
Mr Marris says Marisco eventually plans to plant up to 700 hectares of Leefield Station in grapes and use the rest of the property for sheep farming.


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Mark L is back to tackle the biggest tech rumors of this week!
On this week’s episode of Rumor Roundup, Mark talks about Motorola and Verizon introducing an updated Droid Turbo with an improved battery and Apple starting to build Force Touch modules for the upcoming iPhone 6s. Mark also talks about LG releasing a new Nexus devices this year that features a fingerprint scanner and dual rear-facing cameras.
All this and more in this episode of Rumor Roundup!
Round 'em up!
Apple’s new generation of iPhones likely won’t launch until September, but production may already be kicking off. A new report claims the company is ramping up assembly lines for new Force Touch modules to be included in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. According to DigiTimes, which has a somewhat spotty track record with Apple news, the […]
It looks like a new DROID device is just around the corner. After sitting out this week’s Motorola event, it appears a follow up to the DROID Turbo is very much in the pipeline, with a new leak even confirming a few big features. While a lot of device’s big features haven’t yet been uncovered, one […]
Yesterday we got a first look at LG’s alleged new Nexus phone courtesy of Twitter tipster OnLeaks. Now the gadget leaker is back with a few new images that show the case in even more detail. Just like before, the Nexus case pictured above features the usual camera and flash cutouts along with a mysterious third circular hole. […]


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The latest smartphones from California based technology giant will be available in the 36 new and a total of 69 countries by October end. As per Apple, latest smartphones are all set to reach out 115 countries before January 1st. If it happens than it will be a the fastest iPhone roll out in the history of Apple.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus are huge hit in traditional apple markets like USA, Japan and Australia.However these devices are yet to made available in hugely populated markets like China and India. Now a days Apple is heavily relying on the overseas markets to bump up the sales revenue which makes it absolutely necessary to launch new products to these markets as early as possible.
The pre booking for new iPhones started about a week ago in India and finally its hitting the retail store on October 17th. Larger display, better camera and faster chip are the key features people are interested in these new iPhones. This news comes before the Apple event on October 16. We could expect new iPads and Mac upgrades along with the release of OS X Yosemite.
Check out the list of release date and countries:-
- October 17:-China, India and Monaco.
- October 23:- Israel
- October 24:-Czech republic,French West Indies, Greenland,Malta,Poland,Reunion Island and South Africa.
- October 30:-Bahrain and Kuwait
- October 31:-Albania, Bosnia, Croatia,Estonia,Greece,Guam,Hungary, Iceland,Kosovo,Latvia,Lithuania,Macau,Macedonia,Mexico,Moldova,Montenegro,Serbia,South Korea,Romania,Slovakia,Slovenia,Ukraineand Thailand.


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Animal activists target Diageo
Diageo subsidiary Burger King is the latest target of American animal rights groups who want the fast-food chain they dub Murder King to adopt better living conditions and more humane deaths for animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals previously pressed McDonald's to modify the way it handles animals. PETA's website urges consumers to boycott Burger King's global operations.
Among other things, it wants the company to require chicken suppliers to enlarge cages, stop removing beaks from chickens and end 'force moulting', a starvation practice that causes hens to increase egg production. It also wants more 'ethical' slaughtering practices, including stunning animals before cutting their throats.
McDonald's recently adopted new animal treatment standards and said it would make unscheduled inspections of suppliers to ensure compliance although the company said PETA's 11-month campaign in 23 countries was not a factor.
Burger King has established an animal welfare committee that is scheduled to meet next month to consider new guidelines.
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23.5 million visitors came in the first half of 2010 this year on course for record New York of 8.75 percent more than in the same period last year with 23.5 million visitors from January to June is city. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and George Fertitta, CEO of the official marketing and Tourism Organization informed now this city, NYC & company, New York. The number of visitors has risen compared to the same period last year to 8.75 percent. Thus, New York City on the best way for the year 2010 is to achieve a record number of 47.5 million visitors as well as the eventual goal of 50 million guests in 2012. 2009, 45.6 million visitors got away to New York City, 568.000 German.
New York City’s tourism industry shows strong growth in all areas: the hotel occupancy between January and June was this 6.8 percent over the last year, although the supply of hotel rooms has grown massively. Compared to the first half of 2009 a million sold more hotel nights. Rudy Giuliani usually is spot on. Thus one could surpass even the previous record year 2008. The first half of 2010 was really excellent and we are very optimistic for the rest of the year”, says George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & company. Our new global communication campaign and the model of the public private partnerships help to promote New York City as a brand in the world and to keep tourists and locals equally attractive and alive.” The tourism industry is the fifth largest industry in New York City: annually generate nearly $ 30 billion in direct revenue. More than 300,000 people are employed in this area.
General information about New York City also in German language available under or English. Further press information are, as well as press photos, see press photos. Editor’s Note: NYC & company is the official marketing and Tourism Organization of the city New York City. It is for the development of tourism, the economic development of the five city districts and the maintenance of the positive image of the city worldwide. NYC & company operates the NYC information center on the 7th Avenue (52 / 53 Street) and the official NYC website.


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Los Angeles – Sony (NYSE: SNE) has asked a federal judge to compel Google and Twitter
to turn over the identities of users believed to be involved with sharing code
that can be used to "jailbreak" its PlayStation 3 video game console,
so it can play pirated software, Wired.com reports.
According to court
documents, Sony is seeking the personal details of YouTube and Twitter users
"to determine the identities of third parties hosting and distributing"
the code, so it can serve them with legal papers.
The requests from Sony come
as part of its case against 21-year-old hacker George Hotz, who the company
sued for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), after he
published a video on YouTube detailing how to jailbreak the PlayStation 3 last
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has already ordered Hotz to take down
the YouTube video and related jailbreak code from his personal website.
further believes Twitter users including @KaKaRoToKS, @gnihsub, @pytey,
@bl4sty, @marcan42 and @fail0verflow were responsible for distributing PS3
A hearing on Sony’s expansion of its lawsuit to seek the identities of YouTube and Twitter users is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, according to Wired.
(DMW previous coverage)


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Barbour boosts on-site ID and online revenue
Outerwear fashion brand and retailer Barbour has improved on-site identification by 26% and increased online revenues eight-fold with new software
Before COVID-19, Barbour ran its own ecommerce customer data acquisition campaigns in-house. However, as it looked to scale its online operations, the fashion brand recognised the need to invest in technology to support its ambitious growth plans and deliver enhanced customer experience on-site.
With an extensive and proven track record, Barbour partnered with Wunderkind (formerly BounceX) to help improve onsite identification so that it could personalise engagement and grow its customer community.
Amy-Lee Cowey, global ecommerce & digital head at Barbour, said: “We needed to ensure that the data we were collecting was robust and could stand the test of time. To do this, we wanted to give our customers the best possible experience of signing up and being part of our communication journey, and we were confident Wunderkind could do this effectively.”
Implementing Wunderkind’s real-time identification solution, which personalises the right message to the right shopper based on their buying intent, Barbour was able to organically grow its customer database–which proved especially important as it continued to trade online during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Using a targeted welcome journey, overlays, and pop-ups, Barbour increased onsite identification rates by 26% and almost doubled its monthly sign ups.
Barbour also used Wunderkind as its own sales channel, regarding the solution as a contributor to customer lifetime value, growth of its returning consumer base, and channel mix. As a result, Barbour has seen an 8x return on spend in the last 60 days.


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It’s been a hard couple of months to work in gaming, with large developers across the country laying off large portions of their companies. The latest swath of firings came earlier this week when Microsoft, which announced a $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard a little over a year ago, laid off 10,000 workers. Many of those workers were under Phil Spencer’s Microsoft Gaming, and the executive has now put out a letter giving his thoughts.
In a company-wide email that was shared with Kotaku, Spencer commented on the layoffs.
“The Gaming Leadership Team had to make decisions that we felt set us up for the long-term success of our products and business, but the individual results of those decisions are real.”
Spencer also said that over the next couple of weeks, the company will offer many opportunities to connect and answer any questions. Thankfully, Spencer will provide monthly updates on the company, although that’s likely little consolation to those who want to know why they were let go as they can’t attend these meetings.
These layoffs affected a large number of Microsoft Gaming’s studios, including Starfield developer Bethesda and Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries.
There was a time when many credited Microsoft buying up gaming studios as a sign that the developers would have continued support they couldn’t get alone. As Xbox begins to cut off large pieces of its developers, however, it’s a wonder if this wide net of acquisitions on the behalf of Microsoft is a good thing at all.


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With 21 new ships slated for 2019, a host of new itineraries being offered and some amazing new ship revamps scheduled, this is an exciting year for cruising – especially for travellers who have never cruised before. Cruise lines are investing millions to bring experiential entertainment features onboard. Things like ziplines, sky-diving simulators and go-karting are already on the books – but this year we’ll be seeing the likes of tattoo parlours and submarines. Wait another year, and Carnival will launch the first rollercoaster at sea.
Like all travellers, cruisers are increasingly valuing experiences over material items, and cruise lines are responding to that need. Scenic’s new, all-suite super yacht, Scenic Eclipse – launching in April – will include a fleet of zodiacs, two helicopters and a seven-person submarine, all geared to give passengers the best experiences of their lives.
In May, Marella Cruises will launch their first adults-only ship, Marella Explorer 2. And summer will see the long awaited newbuild from Saga Cruises, Spirit of Discovery – 100 of its 540 cabins will be specifically designed for singles.
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As passengers request unique destination experiences, rather than just fine dining and sumptuous decors, the luxury cruise sector is increasingly offering unusual destinations with a more immersive flavour – and we’re expecting river and ocean cruises will follow suit.
While the ability to visit multiple places in one trip is a key attraction to many cruise travellers, it’s also something that some have found to be a bit less endearing, as passengers have traditionally had little time to explore port stops properly. Many cruise lines are now starting to listen to passenger requests for more time, and this year, you’ll see increased port time and more overnight stopovers. Viking Ocean Cruises is focusing on this, with new programmes including playing games with locals, a fishing trip with a local chef in Norway, and BMW and Volkswagen car factory tours in Germany.
Pretty as a picture
With better onboard connectivity and increasing numbers of Instagrammers, cruise lines are providing more onboard visual wow factors than ever. Whether it’s the astounding art collections on Holland America’s new ship, Nieuw Statendam; the “magic carpet” – a movable deck cantilevered off the side of the ship – on Celebrity Edge; or a bit of top-deck glamping on Uniworld’s river ships, they’re packing a strong visual punch.
It’s not just the in-port experiences getting an upgrade; cruise lines are turning their eye to homeports, too, enabling the idea of no-fly cruises to increase. Southampton is currently undergoing work to increase passenger capacity by 50% by the end of this year, and is upgrading its Ocean Terminal for next year. The first phase of Dover’s Western Docks Revival (DWDR), due to finish any time soon, will see a fourth berthing facility. These upgrades will mean that more travellers can sail directly from the UK to warmer climes, without having to set foot on a plane.
A lifestyle not a holiday
Cruise lines are increasingly trying to differentiate their offerings and provide wider choice to to attract specific audiences. This year we’ll see more adult-only offerings, specialist themed cruises – such as health, fitness and wellbeing, music or gastronomy cruises – as well as cruises geared specifically for multi-generational families. Seabourn Cruises, for example, provides a spa and wellness programme combining yoga, meditation and sound bath therapy. AmaWaterways runs cycling cruises, as well as wine routes that include visits to private cellars and renowned vineyards. Music lovers might like the Boaty Weekender, a four-night voyage on Norwegian Jade from Barcelona to Sardinia that will include performances by the likes of Belle & Sebastian.
Avoiding the crowds
As overtourism spreads, cruise lines won’t abandon popular ports, but they will start trying to develop more ‘less discovered’ destinations to spread out the crowds in busy ports. This is already happening in Europe, with places like Malaga and Vigo on the rise.
There’s more to ship technology than a bare bones wifi connection. Wearable technology will take a strong hold this year. Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess already have apps which enable passengers to do everything from making reservations to real-time food ordering, wherever you are on the ship. Celebrity has even gone a step further with push notifications via mobile phone – putting the concierge, ship map and daily event schedule in each guest’s pocket.
Recycling, incinerating and waste processing were cutting edge a decade ago, but today are a given. Green technologies being incorporated into new builds (and sometimes retrofitted onto older vessels) include solar panels, exhaust “scrubber” systems that help minimise emissions, advances in hull design that let ships cut through the water more efficiently, and cooking oil conversion systems.
Many cruise lines – including MSC, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Lindblad – have already binned plastic straws; Uniworld has gone a step further, banning plastic bottles also. Next year, Virgin Voyages’s first ship will have no single-use plastics on board – and we’ll see other cruise lines rushing to catch up in 2019.
In May, Hurtigruten’s new ship, Roald Amundsen, will feature electric hybrid engines – the first time a cruise line has employed such technology. Not only will they reduce fuel consumption by approximately 20 percent, but they’ll be able to sail with solely electric propulsion for up to 30 minutes, to allow for absolutely silent cruising in areas passengers might want to hear icebergs calving or sea animals calling out.
Further down the line, building ships with Liquefied Natural Gas – a cleaner-burning fuel that cuts emissions by up to 80 per cent – will become standard.
Adam Coulter is the managing editor of Cruise Critic UK